,17(51$7,21$/ 5(/$7,216 - CSB IASApr 01, 2020 · ,17(51$7,21$/ 5(/$7,216 8 6 )hg fxwv lqwhuhvw...

CURRENT BULLETIN (AUGUST-2019) CSB IAS ACADEMY

14 www.csbias.com

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

U.S. Fed cuts interest rate for first timesince 2008

Context:

· United States Federal Reserve has announceda quarter percentage point cut in interest rates.

· It is the first rate cut since the global financialcrisis broke in 2008.

Background

· The Fed has cited concerns about the globaleconomy and lower US inflation among the keyreasons for the decision to cut rates and sig-nalled a readiness to lower interest rates furtherif needed.

· A rate cut in the US is good for emergingmarket economies and is projected to catalysea debt and equity market rally in countries suchas India.

· Further, emerging economies such as India tendto have higher inflation and thereby higher inter-est rates than those in developed countries suchas the US and Europe.

Details:

· As a result, Foreign institutional investors (FIIs)would want to borrow money in the US at low-interest rates in dollar terms and then invest thatmoney in bonds of emerging countries such asIndia in Rupee terms to earn a higher rate of in-terest.

· When the US Fed cuts its interest rates, thedifference between the interest rates of the twocountries increases, thus making India moreattractive for the currency carry trade.

· A rate cut by the Fed would also mean a greaterimpetus to growth in the US which could be posi-tive news for global growth.

· But this could also translate into more equityinvestments in the US which could temperinvestor enthusiasm for emerging market econo-mies in a proportionate manner.

U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran Minister

Context:

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Iran’s For-eign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Background

· Tensions have escalated between Iran and theU.S since the US President Donald Trump lastyear unilaterally withdrew Washington from alandmark nuclear deal signed between Iran andworld powers in 2015.

· Since then, it has reimposed punishing sanc-tions on Iran, including measures aimed at slash-ing its oil exports to zero, as part of a campaignaimed at pressuring Tehran to negotiate a newnuclear deal.

· Fears of a direct US-Iranian conflict have risenwith several suspected attacks on oil tankers inthe Gulf, Iran’s downing of a US surveillancedrone, and a plan for US air raids on Iran thatTrump called off at the last minute.

Concerns:

· The highly unusual action of penalising the topdiplomat of another country comes a month af-ter Trump signed an executive order placing sanc-tions on Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah AliKhamenei.

· Through this move, the U.S has essentially cut off the clearest avenue for talks with Iran by

punishing the man who negotiated the 2015nuclear agreement.

Details:

· The sanctions freeze any of Mr. Zarif’s assets in the U.S.

· It would also freeze Mr. Zarif’s assets that are controlled by U.S. entities.

· It would curtail his international travel.

· Zarif said that Iran may cut its commitmentsunder the nuclear deal further unless Europeanpartners move to protect it from US sanctionsby ensuring it can sell oil and receive income.

U.S. formally withdraws from INF armstreaty

Context:

The United States formally withdrew from a land-mark arms control treaty with Russia, claimingit undermines its national security interests.

pc

Text Box

1


15 www.csbias.com

What is the INF treaty?

. The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces(INF) treaty limited the use of medium-range mis-siles, both conventional and nuclear.

· Under the INF treaty, the US and formerly SovietUnion agreed not to develop, produce, possessor deploy any ground-based ballistic and cruisemissiles that have a range between 500 and 5,500km.

· It exempted the air-launched and sea-basedmissile systems in the same range.

. The INF treaty helped address the fears of animminent nuclear war in Europe.

. It also built some trust between Washington andMoscow and contributed to the end of the ColdWar.

Background

· In February, Washington had announced that insix months it would suspend its participation inthe Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF)treaty unless Moscow destroyed missiles whichthe US and its NATO allies alleged that theyviolate the agreement.

· For its part, Russia denied the US allegationsand accused Washington of flouting the treatyitself, before giving notice that it would also pullout of the bilateral agreement.

· Both sides had signalled their intention to pullout of the treaty for months, trading accusationsof breaking the terms of the deal.

Row over a missile:

· Washington has for years accused Russia ofdeveloping a new type of missile, the 9M729,which it says violates the treaty — claims thatNATO has backed up.

· The missile has a range of about 1,500 kilometresaccording to NATO, though Moscow says it canonly travel 480 kilometres.

· NATO sided with the US on its withdrawal deci-sion, saying in a statement that “Russia bearssole responsibility for the demise of the Treaty”and vowed to respond “in a measured and re-sponsible way”.

Concerns:

· The treaty’s expiration now enables the US toresume development of its own medium-range,land-based arsenal.

· The US military plans to test a land-based cruisemissile and a ballistic missile previously bannedunder the INF treaty.

· It leaves the critics of the Trump administrationand proliferation experts worried about the po-tential for a new arms race.

· The US will now have just one arms control agree-ment with Russia left.

· But the New Start Treaty, which limits the num-ber of deployed nuclear warheads Russia andthe US can have to 1,550, is also under threat ofdissolution, with US National Security AdviserJohn Bolton declaring in June that Washingtonwas unlikely to extend it past its 2021 expira-tion deadline.

· It is feared that the withdrawal from the INFTreaty without a follow-on is the invitation for anarms race.

GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA

Context:

30 people died and dozens were wounded in 2mass shootings, over fear of ‘Hispanic invasion’,within just 13 hours of each other in the U.S.,prompting calls from some politicians for tightergun control.

Details:

· Gun violence: No other developed country inthe world has anywhere near the same rate ofgun violence as America. The US has nearly sixtimes the gun homicide rate as Canada, morethan seven times as Sweden, and nearly 16times as Germany, according to UN data.

· Private ownership: The US has by far the high-est number of privately owned guns in the world.Estimated in 2007, the number of civilian-ownedfirearms in the US was 88.8 guns per 100 people.The world’s second-ranked country was Yemen,where there were 54.8 guns per 100 people.

Reasons for high Gun Ownership:

· Federal law prohibits certain people from own-ing firearms: those with certain kinds of criminalrecords or mental illness. However the systemhas major holes like incomplete listing of thesepeople, no background check.

· In fact, most gun controls exist at the state level.However, the laws on carrying weapons varyenormously. Most states allow anyone who le-gally owns a gun to carry it openly, in public,without requiring a license or permit.

· Gun rights advocates see weapon possessionas a matter of individual rights i.e. people havingthe right to arm themselves for hunting, self-de-

pc

Text Box

2


16 www.csbias.com

pc

Text Box

3


17 www.csbias.com

fense, sport – or just because they want to.

· In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4decision, that the “Second Amendment” protectsthe individual right to have firearms.

· The gun lobby also argue that the weapons ac-tually make society safer, giving people the powerof self-defense, and dissuading criminals fromvictimizing people who might be armed.

· Gun rights advocates, led by the National RifleAssociation, form a powerful lobby that politi-cians fear to cross.

Hispanic Families:

· Hispanic of Spain/Portugal .Can also be used torefer to who are Spanish speaking.

· Proportion of Hispanic population: MexicanAmerican, Puerto Rican as Cube.

Sudan military, protesters sign deal forcivilian rule

Context:

Sudan’s pro-democracy movement signed apower-sharing agreement with the ruling militarycouncil on Sunday aimed at paving the way for atransition to civilian rule.

Background

· The military overthrew al Bashir in April followingmonths of mass protests against his three-de-cades-long autocratic rule.

· The protesters continued to remain on thestreets, demanding a rapid transition to a civil-ian authority.

· They have been locked in tense negotiations withthe military for weeks.

Details:

· Representatives initialed a Constitutional docu-ment that would establish a joint military and

pc

Text Box

4


18 www.csbias.com

civilian council to rule for a little over three yearsuntil elections can be held.

· The agreement would establish a Cabinet ap-pointed by the activists, as well as a legislativebody.

· The deal has presumably ended an era inSudan’s history characterized by rivalry and fight-ing.

pc

Text Box

5


19 www.csbias.com

U.K. joins U.S. to ensure safety of vesselsin Gulf

Context:

· The UK will join a US-led taskforce to protectmerchant ships travelling in the Gulf.

· This move comes amid growing tensions be-tween the two countries and Iran over the ship-ping route in the Strait of Hormuz.

Background:

· This decision was taken after Iran had seized aBritish oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

pc

Text Box

6


20 www.csbias.com

· UK has accused Iran for an act of state piracy.

· However, Iranian officials had said that the oiltanker was seized in response to Britain’s rolein seizing an Iranian oil tanker off the coast ofGibraltar.

Details

· The tensions in the gulf region had started afterUS has re-imposed and latterly tightened its ownsanctions on Iran after withdrawing from a 2015Iran nuclear deal to limit Iran’s nuclear activities.

· However, the UK has said that it’s decision tojoin the US-led mission will not change its com-mitment to the Iran nuclear deal and that the UKgovernment was working to de-escalate the situ-ation in the Gulf.

· The Strait of Hormuz is a vital shipping route link-ing Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia,Europe, North America and beyond.

· It has been at the heart of regional tensions fordecades.

Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty

Context:

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weap-ons or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons, was adopted

by the Conference by a vote of 122 States infavor at the United Nations on 7 July 2017, isthe first legally binding treaty.

Ratification:

In order to come into effect, signature and ratifi-cation by at least 50 countries are required. Asof 31 July 2019, 24 nations have ratified thetreaty.

Strategy:

· The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weap-ons (TPNW) includes a comprehensive set ofprohibitions on participating in any nuclearweapon activities.

· Treaty prohibits the development, testing, pro-duction, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use, andthe threat of the use of nuclear weapons.

· The Treaty also prohibits the deployment ofnuclear weapons on national territory and theprovision of assistance to any State in the con-duct of prohibited activities.

Trump freezes all Venezuela Governmentassets in U.S.

Context:

The Trump administration has frozen all Venezu-elan government assets in a significant escala-

pc

Text Box

7


21 www.csbias.com

tion of tensions.

Background

· In recent years Venezuela’s economy collapsedand shortages of food and medicines becamewidespread.

· There was rampant corruption present in theadministration too, including an allegedly riggedPresidential election.

· U.S is keen to remove the incumbent Govern-ment lead by Nicholas Maduro and have recog-nized opposition leader Juan Guaidó asVenezuela’s rightful leader.

· China and Russia have continued to backMaduro.

· Previous sanctions have targeted dozens of Ven-ezuelan government insiders as well as the SouthAmerican nation’s oil industry, the source of al-most all of its export earnings.

U.S.A:

· All property and interests in property of the Gov-ernment of Venezuela that are in the UnitedStates will be blocked.

· There will be an immediate ban on Americansdoing business with Venezuela’s government.

· The latest move places Washington’s trade re-lations with the South American country on apar with Cuba, Syria, Iran and North Korea.

· Exceptions will be allowed for the delivery of food,medicine and clothing.

‘Hong Kong facing worst crisis since 1997’

Context:

China said Hong Kong is facing the most severecrisis since the city was handed over to Beijingby Britain in 1997.

Background

· Hong Kong was a British colony for morethan 150 years. Hong Kong Island was ceded tothe UK after a war in 1842. Later, China alsoleased the rest of Hong Kong the New Territoriesto the British for 99 years.

· In the early 1980s, as the deadline for the 99-year-lease approached, Britain and China begantalks on the future of Hong Kong - with the com-munist government in China arguing that all ofHong Kong should be returned to Chinese rule.

· The two sides reached a deal in 1984 that wouldsee Hong Kong return to China in 1997, underthe principle of “one country, two systems”. Thismeant that while becoming part of one countrywith China, Hong Kong would enjoy “a high de-gree of autonomy, except in foreign and defenseaffairs” for 50 years.

· As a result, Hong Kong has its own legal sys-tem and borders, and rights including freedomof assembly and free speech are protected.

Details:

· Hong Kong’s government is now attempting topass a law that would for the first time allow ex-traditions to mainland China. It currently, doesnot have an extradition agreement with Beijing.

· The proposal has generated massive oppositionand a series of protests.

· The government of China has said that the pro-posed amendments would “plug loopholes” thatallow the city to be used by criminals.

· It has assured that courts in Hong Kong wouldmake the final decision on extradition, that onlycertain categories of suspects would be liable,and that individuals accused of political and reli-gious offences would not be extradited.

· However, Human Rights Watch and the Interna-

pc

Text Box

8


22 www.csbias.com

tional Chamber of Commerce have warnedagainst changing the law.

What’s the new extradition law?

· The “Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assis-tance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amend-ment) Bill 2019” was proposed by Hong Kong’sgovernment in February 2019.

· It covers mainland China and other jurisdictionsthat don’t have an extradition agreement withHong Kong.

· The bill was sparked by the case of a Hong Kongman accused of murdering his girlfriend in Tai-wan. He was arrested in Hong Kong and con-

victed of money laundering but couldn’t be sentback to Taiwan for trial there because there’s nolegal framework to do so.

· The Hong Kong government says the new lawwill ensure the city doesn’t become a haven forsuspected criminals.

In Manasarovar, Chinese lend a helpinghand to Indian pilgrims

Context:

On the difficult trek to the high-altitude KailashManasarovar, the Chinese government made thethings might have just got easier from this year.

Kailash Manasarovar:

· Kailash Manasarovar, the Hindu holy site locatedin Tibet

· Lake Manasarovar or Mapam Yumtso is the high-est body of freshwater lake in the world.

· It is fed by the Kailash Glacier.

· It is present near Mount Kailash in Tibet Autono-mous Region.

· The Manasarovar lake is revered a sacred placein four religions: Bön, Buddhism, Jainism andHinduism.

· Lake Manasarovar has long been viewed by thepilgrims as being nearby to the sources of fourgreat rivers of Asia, namely the Brahmaputra,Ghaghara, Sindhu and Sutlej.

· Pilgrimage tours are organized regularly fromIndia.

Organised by:

· The yatra is organised with support from govern-ments of Delhi, Uttarakhand and Sikkim and alsowith cooperation of Indo-Tibetan Border Police(ITBP). The Government of China also extendedthe support in organising the annual yatra.

· The logistical support and facilities for pilgrimsin India is providea by Uttarakhands’ KumaonMandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), Sikkim TourismDevelopment Corporation (STDC) and their as-sociated organisations.

Details:

· Reception centers, have been built at variouspoints of the pilgrimage, which provides the Ac-commodation facility to the pilgrims.

· The reception centers, each with about 150 beds,have rooms with charging points, a commonkitchen and a common washroom, and providefood for the yatris.

pc

Text Box

9


23 www.csbias.com

· Out of 4 reception centers, two were opened fornow, and the other two will be open to yatris from2020.

· The Chinese government is committed to improv-ing facilities for the yatris, there were some ex-pectations from India too

· Since the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra is impor-tant for Tibet, it’s important of providing betterservice for Indians, who undertake the pilgrim-age in Tibet.

Bilateral relations:

· Tibet can play an important role in promotingrelations between China and India.

· China’s relationship with India is on the priorityof Chinese diplomacy and Tibet has a very longhistory of exchanges with India in terms of cul-ture and religion.

Why this pilgrimage is the toughest one?

· Kailash Manasarovar, a pilgrimage for the follow-ers of four religions, is the toughest pilgrimagein the world.

· Situated some 20 km from the Mt Kailash, thelake Manasarovar further holds a prime signifi-cance in the mythology.

· This region sees an inception of four of the primerivers namely Sutlej, Indus, Brahmaputra andKarnati.

· Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is known for its culturalsignificance, religious value, physical beauty andthrilling nature.

· Holding importance for the Hindus as the abodeof Lord Shiva, it embraces religious importancealso for the Buddhists and the Jains.

· The Kailash Manasarovar Yatra is arranged bythe Government of India, Ministry of ExternalAffairs beginning early May/early June to Sep-tember.

The following are the reasons, to be thetoughest trek:

· This 20 km trek is termed to be a dangerousfield trek considering the highs and lows in theHimalayan region.

· The rigid geography of the location gives birth tomedical constraints which make up for the tough-ness of this Kailash Manasarovar Yatra.

· Atmospheric air being under the low air pres-sure.

· Stimulates diseases like the acute mountain sick-ness, coronary artery diseases, bronchialasthma and many more heart ailments along withrespiration issues.

Decision on Kashmir doesn’t affect LAC,Delhi

Context:

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reassuredChina that New Delhi’s decision to exercisegreater administrative control over Ladakh wouldhave no implications for India’s external bound-aries or the Line of Actual Control with China.

Background

· On 5th of August 2019, the President of Indiapromulgated the Constitution (Application toJammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019.

· The order effectively abrogates the special sta-tus accorded to Jammu and Kashmir under theprovision of Article 370 – whereby provisions ofthe Constitution which were applicable to otherstates were not applicable to Jammu and Kash-mir (J&K).

· A separate Bill – the Jammu and KashmirReorganisation Bill 2019 – was introduced tobifurcate the State into two separate union terri-tories of Jammu and Kashmir (with legislature),and Ladakh (without legislature).

Issues:

· Following the development, China had slammedIndia for according Ladakh the Union Territorystaus and India’s decision to revoke special sta-tus to Jammu and Kashmir.

· Historically the district of Leh covered the areaof Aksai Chin that remains out of Indian control.

· China said that the creation of the Union Terri-tory of Ladakh has undermined its sovereignty.

· However, India has reassured China that its de-cision to exercise greater administrative controlover Ladakh would have no implications forIndia’s external boundaries or the Line of ActualControl with China.

Details:

· India has also said that legislative measures wereaimed at better governance and socio-economicdevelopment.

· During the meeting, China has also raised therising tensions between India and Pakistan as aresult of these changes.

· India also made clear that the Jammu and Kash-mir Reorganisation Bill, 2019, is an internal matterconcerning the territory of India and that Indiadoes not comment on the internal affairs of othercountries, hence expects other countries to dolikewise.

pc

Text Box

10


24 www.csbias.com

· The renewed trade tensions threaten to derailthe already struggling global economy.

· The global capital expenditure cycle has “groundto a halt”; since 2018, there’s been a sharp fall-off in nominal capital goods imports growth.

· Central banks around the world are cutting inter-est rate in a bid to shore up global economicactivity.

· To some extent, this monetary policy is coun-tering the adverse impacts of trade wars and all-round global uncertainty (Brexit, geopolitical ten-sions in West Asia, and between the US andNorth Korea).

How do higher tariffs affect growth?

· According to Morgan Stanley, 2/3rd of the goodsbeing lined up for increased tariffs are consumergoods.

· Higher tariffs are not only likely to saturate thedemand but, also hit business confidence to in-vest more.

· Reduced capital investment would reflectin fewer jobs, which, in turn, will show up in re-duced wages and eventually lower aggregatedemand in the world.

· What makes this scenario tricky is the factthat monetary policy is already loose.

· Ideally, the global economy should not risk reach-ing a recession at a time when the monetarylevers may not have a lot to offer.

· In fact, at present, the trade tensions and un-certainty is negating the positives that a cheapmoney policy could provide to the world economy.

Henley Passport Index

Context:

The latest Henley Passport Index ranks India at86, down five places from 81 in 2018. The indexranks passports based on their power and mo-bility. Last year, an Indian passport holder hadvisa-free access to 60 countries; this year, hasaccess to 58.

What is the Henley Passport Index?

· It is prepared by Henley and Partners, a Lon-don-based global citizenship and residence ad-visory firm, the Index claims to be the “originalranking of all the world’s passports”.

· The index gathers data from the International AirTransport Association (IATA) that manages in-ter-airline cooperation globally.

· Regarding the boundary question it was said thatit would be dealt with on the basis of the Politi-cal Parameters and Guiding Principles (2005).

· The two countries also discussed India’s tradedeficit with China. Besides, four bilateral pactswere signed on

(a) Culture

(b) Traditional medicine

(c) Sports and

(d) Museum management.

· The foreign minister also co-chaired the secondmeeting of the High Level Mechanism (HLM) onCultural and People-to-People Exchanges.

· The HLM was established during the first infor-mal summit in Wuhan in April 2018.

US-China trade war might lead to a globalrecession

Context:

· Researchers at Morgan Stanley (an investmentbank) has alerted that if the US-China trade warcontinues for the next 4 to 6 months, a globalrecession could occur within the next 9 months.

· The last massive downward spiral in the globaleconomy happened in the wake of the great fi-nancial crisis of 2008 and continued till 2010.

What is a global recession?

· In an economy, a recession happens when out-put declines for two successive quarters (i.e. 6months).

· However, for a global recession, institutions suchas the International Monetary Fund tend to lookat weakness in the economic growth rate, andalso at the widespread impact in terms of theimpact on employment or demand for oil etc.

· The long-term global growth average is 3.5%.The recession threshold is 2.5%.

What has triggered the alarm?

· On September 1, 2019, US imposed 10% tariffon imports from China, which escalated the tradetensions between the US and China.

· In retaliation, China threatened to take counter-measures.

· Then, US declared China as a “currency manipu-lator”. In other words, the US accuses China ofdeliberately weakening the yuan to make Chi-nese exports to the US more attractive and un-dercut the effect of increased tariffs that the USis employing.

pc

Text Box

11


25 www.csbias.com

· This Index is updated in real-time according tocountries’ visa policy changes. It covers 227destinations and 199 passports.

· The index receives data from the IATA on a fixedday every year that forms the basis of the index.This data is supplemented by accounting for real-time changes in visa policies using publicly avail-able sources to prepare a visa list, which is alist of destinations that a passport can accessvisa-free, through a visa on arrival, e-visa or witha traditional visa.

· Each passport is attributed with a score and arank. For instance, for 2019, India’s score is 58and it ranks 86 in the list. Japan and Singapore,on the other hand, are ranked 1 and have a scoreof 189.

· The score is the sum of the number of countriesaccessible by that passport holder without re-quiring pre-departure government approval forvisa-types including a visitor’s permit, visa onarrival or an electronic travel authority (ETA). Forevery territory/country that a passport holder ofa particular country/territory is able to accessthrough these visa-types (without pre-departuregovernment approval), a value of 1 is attributedto it.

· A value of 0 is attributed to a score when a pass-port holder has to seek pre-departure governmentapproval for visa-types including e-visa (visasapplied for online and received) and visa on ar-rival. Therefore, the total score becomes the sumtotal for all the values of 1. For instance, a pass-port holder from Singapore and Japan can travelto 189 countries/territories without requiring pre-departure government approval.

What does this mean for Indian passportholders?

· India has a score of 58. That is the number ofdestinations an Indian passport holder can travelto today, without pre-departure government ap-proval. That is the same as a citizen of any coun-try, on an average, could travel to 13 years ago.

· In 2006, a citizen, on an average, could travel to58 destinations without needing a visa from thehost nation; by 2018, this number had nearlydoubled to 107,” Henley and Partners noted inthe Global Mobility Report, released in 2019.

· Afghanistan holds the weakest passport, with ascore and ranking of 25 and 109, respectively.Syria and Pakistan follow with rankings of 107and 106 and scores of 29 and 30, respectively.

UNSC Meeting on J&K Situation

Context:

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) helda “closed consultation” meeting on the situationin Kashmir, following India scrapping Art 370.

What was the meeting?

· The 15 members of the United Nations SecurityCouncil (UNSC) engaged in closed-door infor-mal consultations on the situation in J&K.

· This was in a response to a letter written byPakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah MahmoodQureshi to the President of the UNSC.

· It was backed by a request by China.

· Informal consultations are held in the UNSC allthe time.

· There is no official record of the proceedings nordoes the informal exchange result in any out-come document.

· In this case, the only consensus that had thebacking of the majority of members was that In-dia and Pakistan should resolve matters bilater-ally.

What were the countries’ stances?

UK - China’s attempts to get the president of theUNSC to issue an informal statement to themedia, was curiously backed by the UK.

· This was perhaps in the hope of having somegains from the large domestic constituencies ofPakistanis.

· The UK might also have hoped to get some favourwith China to further its mercantilist interests inthe face of an imminent Brexit meltdown.

Pakistan - Pakistan’s Permanent RepresentativeMaleeha Lodhi made a statement to the mediamaking allegations against India.

· It was claimed that the voice of the people ofKashmir was being heard in the UNSC.

China - China’s Permanent Representative Zhang Junclaimed that members of the UNSC had ex-pressed their serious concern concerning thesituation in J&K.

· He added that they were also concerned aboutthe human rights situation there.

What is India’s stance?

· The move to revoke Article 370 is expected tobring development and prosperity to the J&K re-gion.

· It is aimed at providing good governance, pro-moting social justice and ensuring economicdevelopment in J&K.

pc

Text Box

12


26 www.csbias.com

· This mentioned India’s unilateral declaration ofa ceasefire in the western theatre during thatwar, and Pakistan’s acceptance of it.

· It also demanded a durable cessation of all hos-tilities.

How did this evolve?

· It was under PM Jawaharlal Nehru that India firstbrought the matter before the UNSC using Ar-ticle 35 of the UN Charter.

· A letter (of January 1, 1948) was addressed tothe UNSC president from the Representative ofIndia P P Pillai.

· The agenda item was titled “The Situation inJammu & Kashmir” until the 230th meeting ofthe UNSC (held on 20 January 1948).

· Pakistan too had written a letter dated January15, 1948, addressed by Pakistan foreign minis-ter, Zafarullah Khan, to the UN secretary gen-eral.

· As a result, the agenda item was re-designatedas “The India-Pakistan Question” in the 231stmeeting of the UNSC on January 22, 1948.

· This diluted the question of “aggression” that In-dia had taken up.

How does the future look?

· With the exception of Pakistan and a few of itssupporters, the global community endorses thebilateral framework for resolution of differencesbetween India and Pakistan.

· The global community will no doubt take posi-tive note of the steps being taken by India torestore normalcy in J&K.

· E.g. restoration of landlines, phased lifting ofrestrictions and the re-opening of governmentoffices and schools

United Nations Security Council (UNSC):·The UNSC was established in 1945 and has pri-mary responsibility of maintaining internationalpeace and security.The Security Councilhas 15 members: There are five permanentmembers: the United States, the Russian Fed-eration, France, China and the United Kingdom.The non-permanent members of the SecurityCouncil are elected for a term of two years.Each member of the Security Council has onevote called “veto”. A “No” vote from one of the fivepermanent members blocks the passage of theresolution.Background:In a historic move toreforming global governance in the arena of in-ternational peace and security, the United Na-

· The decisions are claimed to be internal to In-dia.

· It has also been clarified that the constitutionalchange in India had no bearing on the boundaryissue or the Line of Actual Control with China.

What is China’s larger objective?

· As known, China treats Pakistan as a quasi-colony and backs it on all matters.

· However, its initiative to trigger informal consul-tations in the UNSC may have a broader ratio-nale.

· China is facing global censure for its -

- uncontrolled human rights violations inXinjiang province

- mass incarceration of Uighurs in so-calledre-education camps

- razing of mosques and other historicalplaces that give the Uighurs their distinctidentity

- The protests in Hong Kong are a reactionto the progressive erosion of the specialstatus accorded to Hong Kong Special Ad-ministrative Region.

· So, apart from the Pakistan cause, China is try-ing to deflect scrutiny of its own actions in Xinjiangand Hong Kong.

Is UNSC involvement new?

· It is patently wrong to claim that the scrappingof Article 370 has resulted in the “internationa-lisation of Jammu & Kashmir”.

· It is also wrong to argue that the informal dis-cussion by UNSC members is the first of its kindin six decades.

Agenda - Many sections of the Indian media haveerroneously claimed that the last time the UNSCdiscussed the issue of J&K was in 1965.

· It is to be noted that the UNSC does not haveany agenda item explicitly termed “Jammu andKashmir”.

· The only agenda item on its mandate is “TheIndia Pakistan Question”.

UNSC resolutions - UNSC Resolutions 209, 210,211, 214 and 215 of September 1965 focussedon a ceasefire during the India-Pak war.

· They demanded that the two sides cooperatewith UNMOGIP (United Nations Military ObserverGroup in India and Pakistan).

· The last formal resolution under the agenda itemtitled “The India Pakistan Question” was UNSCResolution 307 held in 1971.

pc

Text Box

13


27 www.csbias.com

tions adopted a consensus resolution in its 69thGeneral Assembly, 2015 to move from Inter-Gov-ernmental Negotiations (IGN) to a Text-BasedNegotiations (TBN) process for reforming theUnited Nations Security Council.

NRC is an internal matter, Jaishankar tellsBangladesh

Context:

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka aftermeeting his counterpart A.K. Abdul Momen,External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has re-marked that the National Register of Citizens(NRC) process, now underway in Assam, is in-ternal to India.

NRC Issue:

Background

· The NRC process is aimed at identifying illegalimmigrants in Assam that borders Bangladesh.

· Assam, which had faced influx of people fromBangladesh since the early 20th century, is theonly state having an NRC which was first pre-pared in 1951.

· When the draft NRC was published on July 30,2018, there was a huge controversy over theexclusion of 40.7 lakh people from it.

· The draft NRC included the names of 2.9 crorepeople out of the total 3.29 crore applications.

· In July, Mr. Momen had expressed concern aboutthe possible fallout of the final list on Bangladesh.

Details:

· Jaishankar is in Dhaka on a two-day visit, hisfirst to Bangladesh after taking over the chargeof External Affairs Minister.

· His statement is significant as it indicates India’sofficial position just days before the final NRClist is to be published on August 31.

· The NRC for Assam will be published on August31, 2019 in keeping with Supreme Court direc-tions, but the Centre can consider correctivemeasures, including legislation, to set rightwrongful inclusions and exclusions.

Rohingya Issue:

· They also discussed the Rohingya issue andagreed on their safe, speedy and sustainablereturn to Myanmar.

· Bangladesh, is facing a big influx of RohingyaMuslims from Myanmar. It has sought India’senhanced support in handling the crisis bymounting pressure on Myanmar to take back

the refugees who have taken shelter in the coun-try.

· According to the United Nations, over 7,45,000Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhinestate into Bangladesh following serious humanrights abuses. However, Myanmar denies theallegations.

· Addressing the press with Mr Jaishankar, hisBangladeshi counterpart, A.K. Abdul Momen saidthe bilateral talks had satisfied the Bangladeshteam.

· Both sides had also discussed the repatriationof the Rohingya from refugee camps inChittagong to Myanmar.

· The Minister of External Affairs also reaffirmedIndia’s readiness to provide more assistance tothe displaced in Bangladesh and to improvesocio-economic conditions in Rakhine State.

Teesta water sharing issue

· The Teesta deal was set to be signed during thethen Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit toBangladesh in September 2011, but was post-poned at the last minute due to objections raisedby West Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee.

· Teesta water is crucial for Bangladesh, espe-cially in the leanest period from December toMarch, when the water flow often temporarilycomes down to less than 1,000 cusecs from5,000 cusecs.

· The external affairs minister asserted that India’sposition and commitment to the pending Teestawater deal remained as it was indicating NewDelhi’s previous position that it is ready to signthe deal once the West Bengal governmentagrees to it.

· He said that India is prepared to progress to finda mutually acceptable formula from 54 sharedrivers.

Other Issues:

· On energy cooperation, Jaishankar said bothcountries have stakes in each other’s success.

· On trade, it was said that the progress would bemade at a pace which is comfortable forBangladesh.

· The Minister stressed that India’s partnership withBangladesh remains an example whatneighbours can do together. He also highlightedPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s determinationin ensuring that India- Bangladesh partnershipremains a “role model” in South Asia.

pc

Text Box

14


28 www.csbias.com

On U.S.’s WTO pullout threat

Context:

· U.S. President threatened to pull the U.S. out ofthe World Trade Organisation (WTO) if it fails totreat the U.S. fairly.

· He also blamed it for allowing too many coun-tries to claim the status of a developing country.

Background:

· In a memo to the U.S. Trade Representative lastmonth, Mr. Trump pointed out that nearly 2/3rd ofthe 164 WTO members classified themselvesas developing countries.

· He also raised the issue of even many richeconomies claiming to be “growing” rather than“grown” economies.

· He targeted India and China in particular for “tak-ing advantage” of the U.S. by classifying them-selves as “developing countries” at the WTO.

“Developing countries” status

· This status allows countries to seek partial ex-emptions from the WTO’s rules for free and fairtrade between countries.

· It allows countries like China and India, with theirspecial tag, to impose higher tariffs on importsfrom other countries.

· It also offers more subsidies to local producersin order to protect their domestic interests.

· Developed countries find this to be unfair ontheir producers who are put at a relative disad-vantage.

· But countries like China have argued that theirdeveloping country status is justified given theirlow per capita income.

Reason:

· The “developing country” status, which offerssubstantial benefits to countries that want toprotect their domestic interests, has indeedskewed global trade over the years in favour ofcertain countries.

· Mr. Trump’s attacks on the WTO would be wel-come if they were truly about creating a globaltrading arena with lower tariffs and fewer barriersto trade.

· But he may be raking up the issue not to furtherthe cause of global free trade, but simply as aconvenient pretext to justify further trade barri-ers against China and other countries.

· By pointing fingers at other countries that followprotectionist policies, he will find it justified toimpose retaliatory tariffs against them.

· This will help him bolster his “America First”approach and allow him to successfully holdon to his support base in America’s manufactur-ing belt that has been affected by foreign com-petition.

· Even if countries like China and India offer tolower their tariffs, Mr. Trump would not take themup on their offer.

· That is because it would require reciprocation inthe way of lowering U.S. tariffs, which would workagainst the interests of local American produc-ers.

INDIA - BHUTAN

Context:

PM, Narendra Modi arrived Bhutan on two-dayvisit, a slew of MoUs inked.

In brief:

· The prime minister announced to enhance thesupply of LPG from India. From 700 to 1000Metric Tonnes per month to ensure clean fuel invillages.

· Ground Earth station of South Asia satellite wasinaugurated and SATCOM network, developedwith assistance from ISRO for utilization of SouthAsia Satellite in Bhutan.

· It will increase coverage of communication, pub-lic broadcasting and disaster management in thatcountry.

· Stamps to commemorate five decades of India-Bhutan hydropower cooperation launched.

· The two countries signed 10 MoUs in the fieldsof space research, aviation, IT, power and edu-cation.

· Modi launched the RuPay Card in Bhutan bymaking a purchase at Simtokha Dzong, built-in1629 by Shabdrung Namgyal, which functionsas a monastic and administrative center and isone of the oldest dzongs in Bhutan.

· e-plaque on the interconnection between India’sNational Knowledge Network and Bhutan’s DrukResearch and Education Network was unveiled.

· The Royal University of Bhutan shall be signingfour MoUs, one each with IIT Delhi, Bombay, andKanpur and with NIIT Silchar on stem subjects(STEM- science, technology, engineering, andmathematics)

· 720 MW Mangdechhu Hydroelectric PowerPlant, which India built in Bhutan was inaugu-rated.

pc

Text Box

15


29 www.csbias.com

· An MoU was also inked between National Judi-cial Academy in Bhopal and Bhutan NationalLegal Institute on cooperation in judicial educa-tion and mutual exchanges.

· The currency swap limit for Bhutan under theSAARC currency swap framework will be in-creased. An additional $100 million would beavailable to Bhutan under a standby swap ar-rangement to meet the foreign exchange require-ment.

· India and Bhutan will continue to work for thecompletion of another ongoing project such asPunatsangchhu-1, punatsangchhu-2, andkholongchhu.

· Both the countries will collaborate on the jointdevelopment of a small satellite for Bhutan.

· A joint working group will be created to imple-ment the project and other related activities, in-cluding developing a geoportal system for Bhutanfor natural resources and disaster management,using remote sensing and geo-spatial data.

· India will increase the scholarship for Bhutanesestudents for studies at Nalanda university.

Background:

South Asia satellite

· In 2017, India launched the South Asia Satellite.

· It is a geostationary satellite, helping to meetthe growing telecommunications and broadcast-ing needs of 6 countries in the region namelyAfganistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Srilanka,and the Maldives.

· Bhutan has been provided with the transponderas a consequence of which a ground earth spacestation was built.

· The Bhutanese engineers have been trained inIndia under the ISRO’s Unnati capacity buildingand training program

Other countries:

· Earth station in the Maldives has been executed

· In Nepal, trial sites were set up

· Afganistan and other countries will be taken later.

SAARC swap framework:

· The framework on currency swap agreement forSAARC member countries was formulated withthe intention to provide a line of funding for shortterm foreign exchange requirements or to meetthe balance of payment crisis till longer-term-arrangements are made.

· Under this swap facility, the RBI offers swaps ofvarying sizes in USD, Euro or INR to each

SAARC member-country depending on its two-month import requirement and not exceeding $2billion in total.

· The swap amount for each country has beendefined in the facility, subject to a floor of $ 100million and a maximum of $400 million.

National Knowledge Network:

· NKN is a multi-gigabit pan-India network thatfacilitates the development of India’s communi-cations infrastructure, stimulates research andcreates next-generation applications and ser-vices.

Aim

· To connect all universities, research institutions,libraries, laboratories, healthcare, and agricul-tural institutions across the country to addresssuch a paradigm shift.

· It enables collaboration among researchers fromdifferent educational networks such as TEIN4,GARUDA, CERN and Internet2.

· It also enables the sharing of scientific data-bases and remote access to advanced researchfacilities. The leading mission-oriented agenciesin the fields of nuclear, space and defense re-search is also part of NKN.

INDIA-FRANCE

Context:

In France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi heldwide-ranging talks with French PresidentEmmanuel Macron during which the two lead-ers discussed issues of bilateral and mutual in-terests to further boost the comprehensive stra-tegic partnership.

In brief:

Terror:

· “No Money for Terror” International Conference:

- France has backed India’s proposal to holda global conference on terrorism.

- The two leaders also asked UN countriesto support organising new “No Money forTerror” International Conference on Fight-ing Terrorist Financing in Melbourne in No-vember 2019.

· Enhancing operational cooperation and fightradicalisation:

- In addition to pursuing the excellent coop-eration between the nodal agencies and in-vestigation agencies of the two countries,they agreed to enhance their operational

pc

Text Box

16


30 www.csbias.com

cooperation and launch fresh efforts to fightradicalisation, especially OnlineRadicalisation.

· Implementation of the Christchurch Call to Ac-tion:

- The ‘Christchurch Call to Action’ agreementin Paris, which came in the backdrop ofthe attacks on Christchurch mosque inMarch 2019, is aimed at stopping abuse ofthe Internet by extremists.

- The two leaders reaffirmed their support forthe implementation of the Christchurch Callto Action to eliminate terrorist and violentextremist online content.

Defence:

· Delivery of Rafale aircraft:

- Both the leaders discussed issued jointstatement regarding the delivery of firstRafale combat aircraft’ out of 36 aircraft,which is likely to be delivered in the thirdweek of September.

· Strengthening cooperation in defence industry:

- The two leaders reaffirmed their commit-ment to further strengthen cooperation indefence industry field.

- They extended their support to partnershipsbetween defence companies of the twocountries in the spirit of “Make in India” andfor mutual benefit of both countries.

Nuclear:

· Jaitapur nuclear power project:

- Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited(NPCIL) and Electricite de France (EDF) ofFrance in 2018 signed an Industrial WayForward Agreement for implementation ofsix nuclear power reactor units at Jaitapur,Maharashtra with a total capacity of about10,000 MW.

- The leaders have shown their satisfactionwith the progress in negotiations .

Space:

· Deepen Space Cooperation:

- France and India decided to deepen spacecooperation to meet new challenges to-gether, including planetary exploration ,human spaceflight etc.

- They took the decision to train medicalsupport personnel for Indian astronauts,who will be part of India’s manned spacemission by 2022.

· Framework for joint maritime domain awarenessmission

- They signed an Implementing Arrangementfor establishment of a framework forrealisation of joint maritime domain aware-ness mission, to keep an eye on Chineseassertive moves in the Indian Ocean region.

Cyber:

· Cybersecurity and digital technology roadmap:

- Both the leaders adopted a cybersecurityand digital technology roadmap to expandIndo-French bilateral cooperation, particu-larly in the strategic sectors of high perfor-mance computing and Artificial Intelligence,with the target of bringing start-up ecosys-tems closer to each other.

Note: Cyber security is the new frontier wherethe two countries have decided to cooperate, andtackle challenges from hate speech to fakenews.

Maritime:

· Reviewed the Joint Strategic Vision of India-France Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region:

- France and India reviewed the swift imple-mentation of the conclusions of the JointStrategic Vision of India-France Coopera-tion in the Indian Ocean Region, adoptedduring Macron’s visit in 2018.

· Appointment of a French liaison officer:

- For implementation of the White Shippingagreement, India and France agreed on theappointment of a French liaison officer atthe Information Fusion Centre – IndianOcean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurgaon.

Note: India and France has signed White Ship-ping agreement to enable information sharing onmaritime traffic and maritime domain awarenessin the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Economic engagement:

· Framework to promote bilateral trade and invest-ment:

- The two leaders have decided to have anappropriate framework to find ways to fur-ther promote bilateral trade and investmentand speed up resolution of market accessissues to the benefit of economic opera-tors.

- It was decided to jointly strengthen workon solving trade and investment issues ofconcern for French and Indian companies.

pc

Text Box

17


31 www.csbias.com

- Leaders jointly agreed that the high-levelFrance-India economic and financial dia-logue should be reactivated.

Afghanistan:

· Inclusive peace and reconciliation process inAfghanistan

- The two sides decided to cooperate activelyfor international peace and security, includ-ing in the regional crises threatening them.

- They supported an inclusive peace and rec-onciliation process in Afghanistan which isAfghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-con-trolled.

- This will lead to a lasting political solutionbased on preservation of the gains, includ-ing the constitutional order, human rights,particularly women’s rights, and libertiesgained over the past 18 years.

- They called for timely holding of Presiden-tial elections; cessation of terrorist violence;and end to terrorist safe havens for endur-ing and sustainable peace, security andstability in Afghanistan.

Indo-France Relationship

Historical Background

· Defence cooperation with France began in the1950s when India acquired the Ouragan aircraftand continued with the Mystères, Jaguar (Anglo-French), Mirage 2000.

· After the Cold War, France decided that its pre-ferred partner in the Indian Ocean Region wouldbe India.

· The two countries started joint naval exercises‘Varuna’ in 1983.

· France has historically shown more understand-ing of our strategic programmes than others. Itwas the first western country with which we es-tablished a Strategic Partnership.

· France is the first country with which India ini-tiated a Strategic Dialogue after 1998 nucleartests when France refused to impose any bilat-eral sanctions on and displayed a far greaterunderstanding of India’s security compulsionscompared to other countries.

· France helped India set up the Sriharikotalaunch site assisted in engine development andhosting of payloads.

Areas of Cooperation:

· The areas of defence cooperation, space cooperation and civil nuclear coopera-

tion constitute the three principal pillars of our Strategic Partnership.

· Apart from these traditional fields of coopera-tion, India and France are increasingly engagedin new areas of cooperation like climatechange, sustainable growth and develop-ment, the International Solar Alliance etc.

· France was the first P-5 country to supportIndia’s claim for a permanent seat in an ex-panded and reformed UN Security Council and has continued to support India’s claim.

· France has provided consistent support to India’s candidature for the membership of Multilateral Export Control regimes,viz.NSG and MTCR. France’s support was vital inIndia’s accession to MTCR in June 2016.

· India and France have consistently con-demned terrorism and have resolved to work together for adoption of the Compre-hensive Convention on International Terror-ism (CCIT) in the UN.

Bilateral Trade:

· In 2017, the bilateral trade between India andFrance was worth 9.62 billion euro. If both thecountries have to reach the trade of 15 millioneuro by 2022, we both will have to work towardsfurther strengthening our trade relations.

· Indo-French Defence Exercises

- Exercise Shakti (Army)

- Exercise Varuna (Navy)

- Exercise Garuda (Air Force)

Terror funding watchdog FATF Asia-PacificGroup ‘blacklists’ Pakistan

Context:

Global Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) re-gional sub-group APG (Asia-Pacific Group) hasblacklisted Pakistan for non-compliance of anti-money laundering and combating terror financ-ing efforts.

Background:

Pakistan was placed on the grey list by the FATFin June last year for failing to curb anti-terror fi-nancing.

Details:

· The Asia-Pacific Group, one of the nine regionalaffiliates of FATF, has placed Pakistan in theenhanced expedited follow-up list (also knownas the blacklist) for its failure to meet its stan-dards.

pc

Text Box

18


32 www.csbias.com

· Of total 40 parameters set by the regional group-ing, Pakistan failed on around 36, while it passedon only one of the total 11 ‘effectiveness’ param-eters.

· Pakistan had submitted its compliance reportcomprising its 27-point action plan to the Finan-cial Action Task Force (FATF).

· The report could not pass the scrutiny of theAPG, which found Islamabad lacking on severalfronts.

What Pakistan agreed to do?

· In June 2018, Pakistan gave a high-level politi-cal commitment to work with the FATF and APGto strengthen its (anti-money laundering) AML/(combating the financing of terrorism) CFT re-gime, and to address its strategic counter-ter-rorism financing-related deficiencies.

· Pakistan and the FATF then agreed on the moni-toring of 27 indicators under a 10-point actionplan, with specific deadlines.

· The understanding was that the successfulimplementation of the action plan, and its physi-cal verification by the APG, would lead the FATFto move Pakistan out of the greylist.

· However, failure to comply by Pakistan couldresult in its blacklisting by September 2019.

What happens now?

· For Pakistan to still be moved out of the greylistwould require the votes of at least 15 of the FATF’s36 voting members.

· At least three votes would be needed to block amove to blacklist Pakistan.

· The 36 countries include mostly developed West-ern nations, but also China, Hong Kong (China),Malaysia, and Turkey.

· Pakistan will likely make a diplomatic push tothwart blacklisting.

· It claims it has done enough on the action plan,banning Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa andMasood Azhar’s Jaish-e-Mohammed, and tak-ing over their properties.

· Pakistan’s $6 billion loan agreement with theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) could bethreatened.

· The IMF has asked Pakistan to show commit-ment against money laundering and terror financ-ing.

· Pakistan is in a precarious financial sitation. Itfaces an estimated annual loss of $10 billion if itstays in the greylist; if blacklisted, its alreadyfragile economy will be dealt a powerful blow.

FATF:

· The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is aninter-governmental body established in 1989 onthe initiative of the G7.

· It “set standards and promote effective imple-mentation of legal, regulatory and operationalmeasures for combating money laundering, ter-rorist financing and other related threats to theintegrity of the international financial system”.

Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG)

· FATF Asia-Pacific Group is one of the regionalaffiliates of the Financial Action Task Force.

· The Asia-Pacific Group on Money Launderingworks to ensure that all the countries adopt andimplement the anti-money laundering andcounter-terrorist financing standards that are setout in the FATF’s 40 Recommendations andEight Special Recommendations.

· APG assists countries in implementing laws todeal with crime, assistance, punishment, inves-tigations; provides guidance in setting properreporting systems and helps in establishing fi-nancial intelligence units.

· At present, there are 41 members of APG. Ofthese, 11 countries are also the members of thehead FATF – India, China, Australia, Canada,Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, NewZealand Singapore and the United States.

India Vs Pakistan at FATF:

· India is a voting member of both the FATF andthe APG, and co-chair of the Joint Group, whereit is represented by the Director General of India’sFinancial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Pakistan hadasked for India’s removal from the group, citingbias and motivated action, but that demand wasrejected.

· India was not part of the group that had movedthe resolution to greylist Pakistan last year inParis. The movers were the US, UK, France,and Germany. China did not oppose the movethen.

What is blacklist and greylist?

FATF maintains two different lists of countries:

· Those that have deficiencies in their AML/CTFregimes, but they commit to an action plan toaddress these loopholes, and those that do notend up doing enough. The former is commonlyknown as grey list and later as blacklist.

· Once a country is blacklisted, FATF calls onother countries to apply enhanced due diligenceand counter measures, increasing the cost of

pc

Text Box

19


33 www.csbias.com

doing business with the country and in somecases severing it altogether.

· As of now there are only two countries in theblacklist — Iran and North Korea — and sevenon the grey list, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka,Syria and Yemen.

Trump Snubs Denmark over Greenland

Context:

U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled a visitto Denmark after his idea to buy Greenland was

refused.

In brief:

· Denmark is a NATO ally of the U.S.

· Greenland is the world’s largest island and anautonomous Danish territory rich in natural re-sources.

· In Greenland, the U.S. has a military presenceat the Thule Air Base under a U.S.-Danish treatydating to 1951.

· Greenland has been gaining attention from China,Russia and the U.S., due to its strategic loca-tion and mineral wealth.

pc

Text Box

20


34 www.csbias.com

Legal Obstacles To Sale

· Any sale would require a change to Greenland’slegal status through an amendment to Denmark’sconstitution. Since 2009 Greenland has held theright to declare independence from Denmark. IfGreenland do so, it could choose to becomeassociated with the United States.

· But few Greenlanders see independence as vi-able given their economic dependence on Den-mark, part of the affluent European Union.

Territories earlier purchased by USA?

· In 1803, the US struck a land deal with Franceto buy 827,000 square miles of land called theLouisana Purchase. It massively expanded theUS’ territory.

· In 1819, the US bought Florida from Spain.

· The US bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2m in1867.

An end to the New START in 2021

Context:

The New START (Strategic Arms ReductionTreaty) will lapse in 2021. It is a concern be-cause it will leave the arsenals of the two majornuclear powers unencumbered by any pact.

Background:

· The decade of the 1980s saw heightened ColdWar tensions.

· Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan in 1979provided the U.S. an opportunity to fund a (barely)covert jihad with the help of Pakistan.

· It is underdeveloped and relies on Denmark foreconomic support.

Consequences

· Trump’s proposal at first drew amazement andhumour from politicians in Denmark.

· Trump called off the visit after Prime MinisterMette Frederiksen called his idea ‘absurd’.

· Danes voiced shock and disbelief after the can-cellation of the visit, although Prime MinisterFrederiksen said that she believed relationswould not be affected.

· Location: Greenland, an autonomous provinceof Denmark, is located to the north east ofCanada.

· Demography: Most of its inhabitants are Inuitwhose ancestors migrated from Canada.

· Capital: Nuuk.

· Governance: The autonomous Danish depen-dent territory has limited self-government and itsown parliament. While its government decideson domestic matters, foreign and security policyis handled by Denmark.

· Economy: Denmark contributes two thirds ofGreenland’s budget revenue, the rest comingmainly from fishing.

Significance:

· The US President wants to buy the Danish terri-tory as it is in a crucial strategic location in casetensions with Russia rise - but admits it’s not aNo1 priority.

· Potential oil, gas and rare earth mineral reserveshave also attracted prospecting firms.

pc

Text Box

21


35 www.csbias.com

· President Ronald Reagan called the USSR “anevil empire” and launched his space war initia-tive.

· Soviet deployments in Europe of SS-20 missileswere matched by the U.S. with Pershing II andcruise missiles.

· Treaties between US and Russia related to “armsreduction” are/were:

New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)

· It is a nuclear arms reduction treaty betweenthe United States and the Russian Federationwith the formal name of Measures for the Fur-ther Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offen-sive Arms.

· New START replaced the Treaty of Moscow(SORT), which was due to expire in December2012.

· Its name is a follow-up to the START I treaty,which expired in December 2009, the proposedSTART II treaty, which never entered into force,and the START III treaty, for which negotiationswere never concluded.

Under terms of the treaty:

· The number of strategic nuclear missile launch-ers will be reduced by half.

· A new inspection and verification regime will beestablished, replacing the SORT mechanism.

· The number of deployed strategic nuclear war-heads is limited to 1,550, which is down nearlytwo-thirds from the original START treaty, as wellas 10% lower than the deployed strategic war-head limit of the 2002 Moscow Treaty.

· It will also limit the number of deployed and non-deployed inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM)launchers, submarine-launched ballistic missile(SLBM) launchers, and heavy bombers equippedfor nuclear armaments to 800.

· The number of deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, andheavy bombers equipped for nuclear armamentsis limited to 700.

Timeline to meet these Targets:

These obligations must be met within sevenyears from the date the treaty enters into force.The treaty will last ten years, with an option torenew it for up to five years upon agreement ofboth parties.

What is CTBT?

· The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty(CTBT) is the Treaty banning all nuclear explo-sions – everywhere, by everyone.

· The Treaty was negotiated at the Conference onDisarmament in Geneva and adopted by theUnited Nations General Assembly. It opened forsignature on 24 September 1996.

· More than 20 years since its negotiation, theTreaty has yet to enter into force.

Treaty Signed on date Remarks

Intermediate Range Nuclear 8 December 1987 Treaty signed between USA and

Forces (INF) Treaty Soviet Union on the elimination of their

Intermediate-range and Shorter-

Range missiles

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABMT) 26 May 1972 An arms control treaty between US and

Soviet Union on the limitation of

Anti-Ballistic missile systems.

START I (Strategic Arms 31 July 1991 Treaty between US and USSR on theReduction Treaty) reduction and limitations of strategic

offensive arms.

New START 8 April 2010 Treaty between US and USSR on

measures of for further reduction and

limitation of strategic offensive arms.

pc

Text Box

22


36 www.csbias.com

· Although more than 180 countries have signedthe CTBT, and mostly ratified it, the treaty canonly enter into force after it is ratified by eightcountries with nuclear technology capacity,namely China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, NorthKorea, Pakistan and the United States

G7 Summit

Context:

India has been specially invited by France (hostcountry) to G7 summit. On his visit Prime min-ister is holding bilateral talks with G7 nations.

Details:

· At G7 session Prime Minister, Modi highlightedIndia’s large-scale efforts towards eliminatingsingle-use plastic, conserving water, harnessingsolar energy and protecting the flora and faunafor a sustainable future.

· Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met US Presi-dent Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7Summit in Biarritz in southwestern France.

· PM rejects scope for third party mediation inKashmir issue.

G7:

· The G7 or ‘Group of Seven’ are Canada, France,Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, andthe United States.

· It is an intergovernmental organisation that wasformed in 1975 by the top economies of the timeas an informal forum to discuss pressing worldissues.

· The G7 was known as the ‘G8’ for several yearsafter the original seven were joined by Russia in1997.

· The Group returned to being called G7 after Rus-sia was expelled as a member in 2014 followingthe latter’s annexation of the Crimea region ofUkraine.

· The G7 nations meet at annual Summits that arepresided over by leaders of member countrieson a rotational basis.

· The G7 does not have a formal constitution or afixed headquarters.

· The decisions taken by leaders during annualSummits are non-binding.

· The current G7 Summit being held in France isthe 45th, and the next one will be held in theUnited States in 2020.

· The host country typically gets to invite dignitar-ies from outside the G7 to attend the Summit.

What the G7 does?

· The G7 Summit is an informal gathering that laststwo days, in which leaders of member countriesdiscuss a wide range of global issues.

· The Group was initially formed as an effort bythe US and its allies to discuss economic is-sues, which in the late 1970s included battling aglobal oil crisis

· Since then, the G7 has discussed issues af-fecting every decade, such as financial crises,and has aimed to tackle specific challenges,such as the economic changeover of ex-Sovietbloc nations, terrorism, arms control, and drugtrafficking, among others.

· The groundwork for the Summit, including mat-ters to be discussed and follow-up meetings, isdone by the “sherpas”, who are generally per-sonal representatives or members of diplomaticstaff such as ambassadors.

· The sherpa for Prime Minister Modi at the cur-rent Summit is former Union Minister SureshPrabhu.

G7 and G20:

· The G20 is a larger group of countries, whichalso includes G7 members. The G20 was formedin 1999, in response to a felt need to bring morecountries on board to address global economicconcerns.

· Apart from the G7 countries, the G20 comprisesArgentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indo-nesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Af-rica, South Korea, and Turkey.

pc

Text Box

23


37 www.csbias.com

· Together, the G20 countries make up around80% of the world’s economy.

· As opposed to the G7, which discusses a broadrange of issues, deliberations at the G20 areconfined to those concerning the global economyand financial markets.

RUSSIAN FAR EAST

Context:

In the upcoming summit, India and Russia areset to add new areas of cooperation beyond thetraditional ones.

In brief:

· Russia is a long-term, reliable partner to India.

· Modi has been invited as the chief guest of theEastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostokby Mr. Putin on September 5.

· The bilateral summit will be held on the side-lines of the EEF.

· In the bilateral summit it would expect somemajor announcements on how India-Russia re-lations are going to be diversified. And coopera-tion in the Russian Far East will be a major com-ponent of that diversification.

· The Vladivostok summit would result in not onlyconsolidating the traditional areas of coopera-tion – defence, nuclear, space and energy, butalso add new pillars of cooperation, includinginter-regional cooperation.

· Minister of Oil and Natural Gas, DharmendraPradhan will be in Moscow for negotiations onexpansion of energy cooperation, including long-term gas supplies.

Russian Far East:

· The Russian Far East comprises the easternRussian territory between Lake Baikal in east-ern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean.

· The Russian Far East comprises the Russianpart of the Far East, the easternmost territoryof Russia, between Lake Baikal in EasternSiberia and the Pacific Ocean.

· The Far Eastern Federal District shares landborders with Mongolia, the People’s Republic ofChina and the Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea to its south, and shares maritime borderswith Japan to its southeast and with the UnitedStates to its northeast.

Agreement on Reciprocal Logistics Support(ARLS):

· India going to sign a military logistics supportagreement with Russia.

· Such a agreement is known as “Agreement onReciprocal Logistics Support”.

· This agreement will facilitate access to eachother’s’ military facilities for exchange of fuel andprovisions on mutual agreement, simplifying lo-gistical support and increasing operational turn-around.

· Previously, India signed the Logistics ExchangeMemorandum of Understanding (LEMOA) withthe U.S. in August 2016 and has since concludedseveral such agreements.

Expected moves:

· Expects an effort to conclude long-term sparesand maintenance agreements for military hard-ware which India has procured from Russia.

· Discussion will be on the Ka-226T utility heli-copters for the Indian military through a joint ven-ture.

· Commercial discussion

Eastern Economic Forum

· Eastern Economic Forum is an international fo-rum held each year since 2015, in Vladivostok, Russia, for the purpose of encouraging foreigninvestment in the Russian Far East.

· EEF is considered as the biggest internationalcommunication platform for cooperation betweenbusinesses leaders and senior government rep-resentatives from R Russia, the Pacific Regionand the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN).

· It serves as a platform for the discussion of keyissues in the world economy, regional integra-tion, and the development of new industrial andtechnological sectors, as well as of the globalchallenges facing Russia and other nations.

· Over the years, it has emerged as an interna-tional platform for discussing the strategy fordeveloping political, economic and culturalties between Russia and Asia Pacific.

INDIA – UAE RELATIONS

Context:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a state visitto United Arab Emirates (UAE).

pc

Text Box

24


38 www.csbias.com

Order of Zayed:

· PM Modi was honoured with the ‘Order of Zayed’,the UAE’s highest civilian award, as a mark ofappreciation for his efforts to boost bilateral tiesbetween the two nations.

· The award is in the name of Sheikh Zayed binSultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of theUAE.

· The award has earlier been bestowed on severalworld leaders, including Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, Queen Elizabeth II and ChinesePresident Xi Jinping.

RuPay card

· Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched theRuPay card in UAE, making the UAE the firstcountry in West Asia to initiate the RuPay cardscheme. India has already launched the RuPaycard in Singapore and Bhutan.

· The UAE receives about three million Indian tour-ists annually. Acceptance of Rupay card in UAEwill lower the charges as tourists will save onexchange rate.

· RuPay, an Indian indigenous system of elec-tronic payment, is a highly secure network thatprotects against cyberhacks and is India’s ver-sion of Master Card and Visa. RuPay cardscheme was launched in 2012. There are closeto 500 million RuPay cards in circulation in In-dia.

List of awards PM Modi has been conferred withby Muslim-majority countries:

1. The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance,Bahrain - August 2019

2. Order of Zayed, UAE’s highest civilian award -August 2019

3. Grand Collar of the State of Palestine - February2018

4. Amir Amanullah Khan Award, Afghanistan - June2016

5. King Abdulaziz Sash Award, Saudi Arabia - April2016

6. Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen, Maldives - June 2019

pc

Text Box

25

,17(51$7,21$/ 5(/$7,216 - CSB IASApr 01, 2020 · ,17(51$7,21$/ 5(/$7,216 8 6 )hg fxwv lqwhuhvw...

Documents

Transcript of ,17(51$7,21$/ 5(/$7,216 - CSB IASApr 01, 2020 · ,17(51$7,21$/ 5(/$7,216 8 6 )hg fxwv lqwhuhvw...